Reading Guide (Volume 4) Student Book

Author: Jiang Jingyi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: This is a set of English extensive reading textbooks designed for second and third-year English majors across the country. What is extensive reading? The definition from applied linguistics is: extensive reading is reading a large amount of material, and the reader does not need to understand every detail. The goal of extensive reading is to cultivate learners' good reading habits, as they improve their interest in reading by continuously accumulating vocabulary and knowledge of language structures. Indeed, the basic meaning of extensive reading is to read more to enhance one's sense of the target language, which is particularly important for beginners and intermediate-level language learners. For intermediate and advanced-level language learners, accumulating target language knowledge through reading remains crucial, but they must learn to acquire the target language at a higher level, summarize and synthesize the ideas and viewpoints of the authors, and integrate them with their own thoughts and perspectives. In other words, they must learn to summarize and develop their own ideas through reading, so that they can acquire the target language better and more effectively.
Based on this guiding principle, this textbook series, considering the high level of the target language proficiency of English majors, not only includes conventional reading comprehension and vocabulary exercises but also designs various discussion questions related to the themes to allow learners to expand their discussions around the articles, integrating the content they have read with their own perspectives. This helps them better master the material and facilitates the acquisition of the target language.
This textbook series was developed under the principles of "theme-based" and "collaborative learning." The theme of each reading unit acts like a thread, organically connecting all the reading materials. By reading various genres of texts on the same theme, learners can deepen their understanding of each related topic from different perspectives. "Collaborative learning" liberates learners from traditional learning models, transforming passive learning into active engagement and enhancing their interest in learning. Through collaborative learning, learners achieve knowledge sharing, learn to view and understand problems from multiple angles, and simultaneously strengthen their ability to ask and solve problems.